My favourite clothing - leisure

There have been a few changes in my life recently and I've had to put a section of my clothes into storage, but I have kept a number of items for when I'm not at work and these are a few of my favourites (missing a couple of skirts that just didn't seem appropriate right now).  So here they are, my favourite clothes for my days off.

Let's start with tops.  My most worn is definitely my BrewDog t-shirt with the two jackrabbits (or hares).  I actually thought it was an owl when I first saw it.  I've worn this a lot, as you can see by the fading, and the fit is great, but the main reason I like it is because it is made with 100% organic cotton and is an EarthPositive t-shirt.  The EarthPositive link means that it was manufactured using only renewable energy.  I haven't seen this on the items from BrewDog I've looked at recently so I don't know if this is still a part of the clothing line.

My next t-shirt is one that I brought a few years ago for Comic Relief.  I mainly got it because the line is one of my favourites from Blackadder.  I've worn this a lot as well and it's beginning to discolour quite badly and slightly loose its shape, but I'm going to cling on until the last possible moment.  It is a good reminder though that when it's time to replace it to not buy white.  The label also says on this that the cotton is 100% sustainably sourced but I'm not sure what that actually means and if that's just green wash.  If you have the answers please let me know?

My last short sleeved top is my Harry Potter Primark t-shirt. It's not the most ethical item of clothing I own, but I've had this for years and it's still holding strong so I'm going to keep it until it falls apart.  It is an ironic slogan to have for someone who spends almost all their time being well-behaved, but I like the cheeky idea of it.

The long sleeve top I wear regularly is from the H&M Conscious line.  It is the organic cotton, tight fit long sleeve top in navy blue.  Even though it is fitted it's very comfortable and pretty warm.  It also washes really well and doesn't get misshapen so I'm hoping that I will have this item for a long time.

My normal jumper is the Lands' End fleece that I brought from a charity shop.  I love fleeces as they're warm and lightweight, but they also don't itch my skin in the same way wool does.  However, I am aware that there are issues with fibres from these types of clothing getting into the water so will be looking out for wash bags I can use to collect these fibres once these come out.

When it comes to trousers my favourite are my Braintree (now known as Thought Clothing) which I brought off Natural Collection about 5 years ago when they were having a sale.  They are made from 98% organic cotton with 2% Spandex (which helps them hold their shape) and Thought Clothing is an ethical brand in both how they source the fabrics and how they treat the people who make them.  I also love the colour of these and they're very comfortable to wear.  I pretty much wear them every week.

The other trousers I wear are also from the H&M Conscious line and are the Lyocell- blend cargo trousers.  Tencel lyocell is deemed a more sustainable fabric as it uses less energy, water, and dye then cotton during manufacturing; manufacturing uses a closed loop system which recycles the solvents used reducing the amount of toxin being released; and the company is looking to solve the issue with energy use during manufacturing by looking at renewable energies.  Though these trousers are fitted, which I don't normally wear, they are really comfortable and easy to wear, they have also worn really well.  The fabric is also very breathable and less susceptible to bacteria growth which means I can get away with washing it less often then normal trousers.

I thought it would be a good idea to keep one dress for special occasions (though in writing this I've realised I packed away my heals, ops).  I brought this second hand from eBay to wear to work, but I've worn this on other occasions too and just changed my accessories.  It's a blast from my childhood past as it was made by C&A.  It's 100% polyester and, though it says hand wash only, has held up very well to a lot of wear and being put in the washing machine.  It's an old style but suits my figure well and I feel very comfortable when I wear it.  I intend to wear this for many years.

When I first started trying to buy more ethical new clothes I started by looking at clothes that were sustainably made and sourced, with ethical manufacturing.  But over the wears I have found that buying second hand clothing has been just as sustainable, easier to get at, and a lot less expensive.  I have everything I need at the moment so it's unlikely that I'll be buying anything new or second hand in the near future.  When I do need to I'll look for second hand first before I go down the new, but ethical route.

My Morning Routine - Beauty

This is going to be an unbelievably quick post as the number of products that I use are very small in number, unlike my nighttime routine.

I thought I'd start first with my toothbrush and toothpaste as these weren't written about in my previous blog.  I use the Monte Bianco toothbrush in Soft.  I like using this as the head of the brush can be removed meaning that you only have to throw away a tiny part of the toothbrush when it's time to change it reducing the amount of waste I produce (the replacement heads are as easy to find as they used to be so I may have to look at getting a different toothbrush).  The toothpaste is the AloeDent Aloe Vera Sensitive (fluoride free) and I've really been loving this toothpaste.  I've had to be careful about using more natural toothpastes as I have sensitive teeth, but this hasn't caused any issues and has in fact really helped with my sensitivity.  I also like that there isn't a really strong mint flavour.

After brushing my teeth I splash luke warm water on my face.  This is instead of washing my face, which I don't feel the need to do in the mornings and which can really dry my skin out.  After that I moisturizer with the Jason Age Renewal Vitamin E 25,000 I.u.  This is a really good, versatile moisturizer and I use it on many parts of my body.  On my face it really helps combat dryness (mainly around my nose) and is the first layer I put on to protect my skin from the outdoors.

The last product I put on is the Jason Facial Sunscreen in SPF 20.  I love this product, have used it for years, and keep buying it.  It is a physical sunblock, doesn't break me out or dry my skin up, and is very effective.  I know I live in Scotland but I still wear this everyday to protect from the UV you still get up here and it helps as an additional protection from the weather.

And that is it.  A very quick but effective morning routine much less complicated than my nighttime routine.  It does exactly what I need it to and there doesn't seem to be any reason why I should complicate it.

So what do you use in your morning routine? Do you keep it simple or are there a number of products you use to help you start your morning? Let me know.

Mini Film Review: The Minimalists

I recently came across The Minimalists while I was researching into the different ways in which people have been simplifying their lives and living more sustainably.  Whilst some of things they say can be a bit vague, I am interested in the message they are conveying and have started listening to their podcast on a weekly basis.

I found their movie 'Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things' a little bit later.  It is a mixture of their story of getting into minimalism, how they are trying to spread their message, the effects that commercialism is having on our society and personal health, and how other individuals have changed the way they live from the norm.  The different stories intermingle throughout the movie and cover everything from not buying items to living in a smaller space.

As I've been looking into living sustainably for a while now the message of the movie was already known to me.  However, the great thing about this movie is seeing how many people from very different backgrounds have given living with less a go and managed to make a success of it.  It even includes families with a number of children making a success of it (no excuses there then).  It's always important to see what is possible to help you realise you can give it a go.

Project Pan 17 Update #8

As with around this time last year progress on my project pan has slowed right down.  In fact there are no completed items to report.

I use the eye shadows from the Naked 1 palette every weekend, but as I don't use it everyday there isn't much progress to see.  The Natural Collections shadow in Sable has gone down a little, but I use it for more then just a base shadow.  Both of these companies are cruelty free.

My Barry M nail paint in Black has gone down a fair amount in August and is now beginning to thicken up.  It's not finished yet but I'm expecting it to go at the beginning of September and then I'll move onto the last varnish in my project pan, Barry M nail paint in Red.  This colour is already well used so I'm not expecting it to take too long before it is gone as well.  Barry M is a cruelty free company.

The Barbara Day eye primer and Bourjois blusher in Ceidre 48 are still showing no real signs of progress.  It's unlikely either of these will be finished by the end of the year, but I am still getting use out of them.  The MUA powder foundation in Shade 4 is now finally beginning to show a dip in the middle, yay!  This has made using it a lot more satisfying and the change is probably due to me now using it as one of the colours in my crease when applying my eye makeup.  It's also highly unlikely I will finish this by the end of the year, but if I get pan on it I'll be happy.

To see my progress so far:

• Introduction
• Project Pan Update #1
• Project Pan Update #2
• Project Pan Update #3
• Project Pan Update #4
• Project Pan Update #5
• Project Pan Update #6
• Project Pan Update #7